A British-Israeli woman, who was held hostage for 15 months by Hamas in Gaza, has said she was detained in a United Nations facility and denied medical treatment during her captivity.
In a phone call with prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, Emily Damari, 28 – who was released earlier this month – told him she was previously held at a site belonging to the UN’s agency, the UNRWA.
She also claimed she was denied access to medical facilities during her captivity and was only supplied with an out-of-date bottle despite losing two fingers on her left hand and being shot in the leg.
Ms Damari and her mother Mandy asked the prime minister to put pressure on Hamas and UNRWA to allow the Red Cross access to the remaining 82 hostages being held in the territory.
The 28-year-old also took the opportunity to thank people in the UK for campaigning for her freedom.
Mandy Damari wrote on X after the phone call: “Hamas held Emily in UNRWA facilities and denied her access to medical treatment after shooting her twice. It’s a miracle that she survived, and we need to get aid to remaining hostages now.”
UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma told the BBC that “the vast majority of our buildings were turned into shelter when the war started. There was also very, very little supplies and assistance that the agency could give them.”
She added: “We’ve been calling for the release of hostages for months on end … These claims that hostages have been held in Unrwa premises, even if they were vacated, are absolutely serious.”
Ms Touma added that UNRWA had repeatedly called for independent investigations into claims of misuse of UNRWA premises by Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas.
The Independent has asked UNRWA to comment on Ms Damari’s claims.
The Israeli government has banned UNRWA from operating having repeatedly accused the agency of being involved in the October 7 attacks, saying that its buildings in Gaza have been used by Hamas.
Ms Damari was taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7 2023, in which she was shot in the hand, “blindfolded and forced into her own car with two other friends”, her family has said.
She was one of three hostages released on January 19 when the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was agreed, alongside Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31.
Three more hostages are set to be released from Gaza in the next exchange, expected on Saturday, as part of the ceasefire agreement. This batch will include the father of the youngest hostage and a dual US national.
A spokesperson for Hamas named Yarden Bibas, 35, Keith Siegel, 65, and Ofer Kalderon, 54, as the next hostages to be released.
